Cottage / 2 bedrooms / sleeps 6

Forget-me-not Chaumiere is situated near Honfleur, in the picturesque village of Marais Vernier in the preservation area of the same name. It is a traditional Normandie timber framed thatched cottage which is around 300 years old. The interior has been tastefully renovated with new heating & plumbing while maintaining the original character & old beams. The sides of the small timber framed barn in the garden have been opened up to create a covered seating/dining/play area with lighting & a brick BBQ for those lazy summer evenings. In Springtime the apple trees throughout the village are enveloped in the most fabulous blossom. For autumn & winter stays there are electric wall radiators in each room for visitors to control as they wish.

There is a flat screen TV with English satellite programmes, plus a selection of DVDs available. Broadband internet with Wifi is provided.

There is a daily fresh bread delivery, so you can have fresh baguettes & croissants waiting for you in the bread box by the gate ready for breakfast each morning & our Welcome Pack includes a jar of our own homemade jam, plus Normandie butter & milk.

The cottage is conveniently placed for visiting quaint Honfleur with its old cobbled quay, so loved by artists, its sandy beach & enjoying Normandie gastronomie at one of the numerous restaurants. Don't want to drive - then try sampling the village auberge (Auberge d'Etampage) only a 10 minutes leisurely walk from the cottage. Pont Audemer is only 15 minutes away. Known as the Venice of the North, it is a great & historic shopping centre with its attractive cobbled streets plus twice weekly markets on Monday & Fridays, many enticing boulangeries & patisseries & individual shops, as well as several major supermarkets.

Other attractions in the area include - Rouen & its Cathedral & famous clock tower; Deauville with its annual American Film festival, famous beach-side boardwalk of the Stars & stupendous long sandy beach; Lisieux - home of St. Theresa; Pont L'Eveque & Livarot famed for their cheeses; Giverney with Monet's home & gardens; plus various chateaux & abbeys nearby such as Chateau Harcourt or Chateau Champ de Bataille , the gardens of which featured in Monty Don ' s French Gardens programme on TV & the Abbaye of Bec Hellouin.

The Haute-Normandie region

Normandie is of course, famous for its dairy produce including the well known cheeses - Camembert, Pont L'Eveque & Livarot and its apple products. The rever apple is a speciality specific to the Marais & it is said to delight even the most demanding palate. In the spring the rows & rows of blossom covered trees are a beautiful sight. There is a special monthly apple fair nearby at St. Opportune-la-Mare from October to April, plus an apple museum. The local cider is a refreshing & tasty accompaniment to most dishes or try a local custom - the 'trou normand' is a glass of Calvados liqueur taken part way through a meal - supposedly to aid the digestion. In the autumn there are Apple Festivals celebrating the year's apple crop with local cider & other artisan products.

Many of the towns along the D Day beaches hold special remembrance events each year around D-day itself 6th June, particularly at Arromanches, Pegasus Bridge etc.Following remembrance events for the 100th Anniversary of the start of the First World War in 1914. The last decisive battle of World War 1 took place in August 1918 at Amiens which is only 2 hours away from the cottage.

For our younger visitors there is also Eana, an adventure park opened on 2008, which offers an innovative adventure where visitors can discover & explore our planet Earth from our origins to 2050. While at Lisieux you can find Cerza - a Zoological Park which offers a 'Safari in Normandie' with over 600 wild animals including rare breeds they are breeding for conservation of the species.

Even Paris itself is only 2 hours away with all its romantic & wonderful sights.

Throughout the season there are many local foires (fairs) at which you can often see locals in traditional costume,Every year Pont Audemer holds a Music Festival the Fete des Mascarets - from mid July to August 13th, starting & finishing with free open air concerts when the whole main street is closed off with sound stages. It is a great family event with a lovely atmosphere. During the Festival there are many other events - special local products markets, hot air balloons & many other attractions. A grand firework display, plus the concert rounds things off on 13th July.August 14th is the Fete Nationale (sometimes called Bastille day by the British) a public holiday, when there are lots of special happenings throughout France.

Marais-Vernier

Marais Vernier is in a Natural Park area within the meanders (Les Boucles) of the Seine that is given over to the preservation of Nature. There are many attractive picnic spots along the banks of the Seine. The Marais Vernier is one of the villages on the Route des Chaumieres (thatched cottages route) which takes you past some of the loveliest traditional Normandie Chaumieres. A few kilometres further down the Chemin du Roy (the road the cottage is situated on) is a special observation post for watching the wildlife of the Marais (Wetlands) at the Grand Mare. There are many flora & fauna exclusive to this area. On 1st May every year Marais Vernier village holds a special fete known as the Etampage, when a lot of the residents dress in local costume & some of the marais cattle are bought to the village to have their horns branded with the marais mark & there are stalls with local produce, wagon rides etc. While a baronial castle overlooks with village.

"Chocolate box cottage in a chocolate box village"

This quaint little French village is situated a the foot of a small mountain and faces a national park. Your neighbours are other thatched cottages and farms with a church that chimes on the hour but not through the night! The cottage has everything you need and very well equipped as well as being comfortable and cosy. We were greeted on arrival ( a first for us and we've stayed in several gites), shown how everything works and left with complimentary jams, juice, milk and butter, which were delicious! Marianne even texted half way through the holiday to ensure we were ok too- so caring! Pont Audemer is approx 5 miles away and stunning. If you want a rural hideaway to relax, this is your place!

17 Jul 2012

5/5

"A perfect relaxing get away"

We stayed at forget me not cottage in June. It was absolutely charming. The pictures dont do it justice. So quiet and a real get away from it all place.
My 2 boys loved it and the WiFi was faster than ours in England!!
Perfect for exploring beautiful Normandy.
Marianne and Jenny were so helpful. Wish we could have stayed longer.

2 May 2012

4/5

"Lovely little cottage in a relaxing setting"

Forget-me-not cottage was charming it was ideal for our relaxing long weekend visit to Normandy. Everything you need is suppliedin the cottage and the friendly welcome with welcome pack of milk, butter, jams was lovely.

10 Jan 2012

5/5

"Peace & Tranquility"

We stayed here in November. It was our first visit to Normandy and the first time we had taken our dog abroad.(she loved it) Being in Marais Vernier is like being in thatch cottage land. It was so peaceful and quiet outside you could hear the sheep eating the grass. It's a bit isolated, even if you like walking you still need a car as its quite a few miles to the nearest shops. Marianne was very helpful, she was there to meet us on arrival and organised bread delivery for the next day and helped us to find a vet for our pet passport.The cottage itself was lovely - warm, cosy and comfortable. Everything we needed was provided for - from milk, jam and butter to washing powder for the washing machine plus plenty of untensils, hot water and lots of useful tourist information. Would definately stay here again - a week wasn't long enough.

8 Sep 2011

5/5

"In my sons words awesome"

We booked this cottage 10 days before the start of our holiday and Marianne was very accommodating allowing us to begin our holiday on the friday and to get the keys 2 hours early.What can we say about the cottage except beautiful, it very well equiped, there wasnt anything more we could have asked for,it is very clean, and the surrounding s are so quiet and peaceful, all you can hear are the sheep as they eat the grass.It is an excellent base to explore the Normandy region, or to relax in the tranquil surroundings and let time drift by.Marianne and her sisterJenny went out of their way to get bread and croissants for us when they realized the bread lady was on holiday for the week and we wouldn't be able to get bread delivered on our first full day.they kept in touch during our holiday to ensure everything was ok and that we didn't need thing.
This was my sons first trip abroad and it is one they will remember for the rest of their lives with great fondness and brillant memories of the cottage.they both want to move in to the cottage and live there full time.we would throughly recommend this tranquil property and will definitely be going back

9 Aug 2011

5/5

"Bilbo may have grown up here :)"

A gem of a cottage set in a tiara of stunning properties. Everything you need for a quiet get away from it all break. Property came with everything you need for a self catering cottage. Couldn't fault the range of kitchen equipment. Extremely clean and comfortable. Lovely little garden, covered outdoor eating area, bbq and patio doors out from the lounge. In the lounge is a wealth of info about the surrounding area. Visitors have added cards of locally visited recommended restaurants.
The village has a couple of picturesque walks around it. The Auberge serves excellent food.
Pont Audemer is a lovely little town with good restaurants and supermarkets.
Nearby is a conservation area with an observation tower for birdwatching.
It's near the autoroute, which made it so easy to get around to Deauville, Honfleur and Rouen.
The owners provided an excellent service from start to finish. Including sending on a parcel of things that had been left behind.
No hesitation in recommending this gite.

28 Jun 2011

5/5

"An unforgettable stay"

Noreen and I were on a three week holiday to France and we had a few days where we had no hotel booked. Marianne was able to accommodate us for those few days but she treated us as if we were long term guests in her beautiful and cosy cottage. She and her sister Jenny could not do enough for us and the three or four days we spent in Marais Vernier were probably the happiest of our entire holiday.

9 Jun 2011

5/5

"A truly great French experience"

A warm welcome was given by the owners on arrival together with an array of local produce left for our use. Facilities available at the property include English TV (via satellite) and a DVD player along with a large selection of discs including children's. There was also a helpful imformation booklet regarding the local facilities along with an array of brochures for the many tourist attractions.
The traditional Normandy chaumiere was well equipped, clean and comfortable with baguettes, croissants etc deliverd to the door every morning. Situated in a quiet, peaceful location with many interesting local walks and within easy reach of Le Havre it is ideal for a short break or a longer stay. Shops, attractions and local markets were easily reached by car. The wildlife, seasonal produce and French cuisine were all enhanced by the warm friendly atmosphere wherever we went.
The only downside of our visit to Normandy was that we had to come home! We look forward to our next visit.

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